Psi Upsilon is immediately shuttering its chapter at Cornell University and plans to convert its fraternity house into a building available for use by student organizations that promote diversity and inclusion, the University announced Tuesday.
The move comes four days after a black student said he was called the N-word and assaulted by a group of white men in Collegetown. Alumni of Psi Upsilon, which has not been recognized by Cornell since May 2016, had previously denied that its members were involved in the fight, but Pollack said that Cornell would not be considering reinstating the fraternity, pending an investigation.
The Psi Upsilon alumni Board of Governors told Cornell late on Monday that it was closing its chapter at the University, two Cornell vice presidents said in a joint statement.
“We appreciate this gesture by Cornell alumni of Psi Upsilon to help promote healing in our community” and the University will work with the fraternity’s Board of Governors “to finalize their intent and make plans for the future use of the property at 2 Forest Park Lane,” Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life, and Fred Van Sickle, vice president for alumni affairs and development, said in the statement.
The Psi Upsilon alumni Board of Governors plans to continue renovations to the property and then open it up for use by student organizations “upon completion in 2018-19,” Lombardi and Van Sickle said.
The building will be for use by student organizations “dedicated to promoting a diverse and inclusive student community,” they said.
Cornell revoked its recognition of Psi Upsilon in May 2016, when the fraternity allegedly hosted a party in violation of an interim suspension while there were 31 judicial complaints against the fraternity, Cornell said at the time. In a separate incident, their former president, Wolfgang Ballinger ’17, pleaded guilty to forcible touching in February and was sentenced to probation in April of this year.
On Saturday morning, following the assault, “You Rasist Fucks [sic]” could be seen in spray paint on the uninhabited fraternity house on Forest Park Lane.